Record number of sea turtle nests reported along Canaveral National Seashore this season

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Canaveral National Seashore is counting up to 150 new sea turtle nests a day along its 24 miles of coastline.

That’s added up to a record number of nests this sea turtle nesting season.

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This season, park rangers and volunteers have already counted 14,500 nests along the undeveloped shoreline. That’s the highest number since the national seashore started counting in 1985.

The area is considered an index nesting beach, which means after the hatching period, nests will be dug up to determine a success rate. In recent years, the success rate has been about 80%.

Read: Off to the races: Brevard Zoo releases sea turtle to compete in ‘Tour de Turtles’

Rangers and volunteers will continue to count sea turtle nests until late fall.

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Watch: Brevard Zoo releases largest patient, 374-pound green sea turtle, back to the ocean The Brevard Zoo Sea Turtle Healing Center released one of its largest patients ever on Friday.

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